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Northern California Lake Fishing Report

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Sunday, May 18th, 2008

  • Solano County
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      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Is it better to catch black bass on incoming tide or outgoing tide? The tide table for Sunday 5/18 shows around 3.3 high at 3:55am leading to a low of -0.3 at 11:23am and then back to a high of 2.4 at 5:30pm. This info is for the False River area of the Delta.

      I want to take my wife and kids out there to catch some fish and have some fun. I am still trying to understand the peak fishing times and lunar phases. Can somebody explain that in greater detail for me?

      I just want to increase my odds to catch fish so the kids will enjoy it and come back out with me. Your help is much appreciated. TIA.
      City: Alameda

  • Amador County
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      Water Temp: 78

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: PICKED UP LOTS OF SMALLIES ON ROCK WALLS BY THE BRIDGE,
      CRANK BAITS, RATTLE TRAPS SEEM TO WORK THE BEST
      City: DIAMOND SPRINGS

      Tips: BRING A BOOK FOR WAITING IN LINE FOR THE LAUCH RAMP, WATER IS SO LOW THERE IS ONLY ONE LANE AT THE NORTH SHORE

  • Alameda County
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      Water Temp: ?

      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: went for a half hour at racoon point and picked up ab out a two on a shakeyhead.
      City: castro Valley

      Tips: be ready for a bite on the drop

  • Lake County
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      Water Temp: 68 to 74

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: we launched out of nice area and fished down to lucern got on the water at 5pm started picking fish up in io ft of water guarding their beds all in the 2 to 3 lbs range all males . on drop shot it really didnt matter what color I also picked up my first top water fish on a frog pattern hula popper we ended up with 27 fish for the day, we got back on the water at 430am we fished till about 8am picking up 15 more then the dreaded wind came up and we had to get off the water , we went out next morning picking up 7 fish 2 to 3 lbs. the water temp had dropped from 74 to 66 degrees and the water had maybe 2 ft visability then the wind forced us off the water .
      City: carmichael

      Tips: dont fish on clear lake on windy days especially in a small boat

    • By

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Fished Channel pt area and loma island. Caught on bass flipping a jig and saw lots of bass crusing(looking for beds I think).
      City: Antioch

      Tips: Fish are coming up to finish spawning so look in shallows

    • By

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: caught a 10 pound even bass on a double wide sweet beaver. and about 60-70 bluegills lost count at 50.
      City: THA P

      Tips: any fish on beds are usualy nice ones now.

  • Butte County
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      Water Temp: 62-70

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Took two boys out sunday. Started in the middle fork. picked up a few slot fish then headed way up the middle fork into cooler water. Jack pot. Fished for three hours and took approx. 30 fish. The biggest went 3.1 lb. Two other tipped the scale right at 2.0 each. Most fish came on drop shot 2-20 feet. Purple was the key color in 4inch Margarita Mutilator. Some were taken slow rolling a Mike Salca Butte Creek Tackle blade in shad pattern with willow blades. Biggest five fish went 10.75. Never fails when you aren't fishing a tournement. I want to go back up the middle fork (without kids) and try jigs, sinkos, and spoons. Yea I said spoons. The water temp was alot cooler and alot of the fish appeared to still have eggs.
      City: Magalia

      Tips: Remember Oroville is low and you still have the same amount of fish in half the amount of water. Once you locate them piled up, you can pick up a bunch in a short time. Go way up the middle fork and look for a granite wall about two hundred yards long on the left side. Next time I will mark it with my GPS and give you the exact location.

    • By

      Water Temp: 62-69

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished the Anglers Choice tournament Sunday. Lots of big bass but lots of small limits came in as well. Best patterns were topwater spooks or vixons, senko's and jigs. Most located post spawn spots on walls and points outside of coves. I did not hear of any bed fish being caught. Big fish was 4lb+, 3lb.+ and several 2.5+ also. Our 8.82lb. bag was in the middle. Top bag 13lb.+ 2nd. 12lb.+
      City: Paradise

      Tips: Start early and use top water plugs. Then start going down the water column with senko's, tubes, dart head and jigs. The reaction bite is also on and will continue to get even better. Top water color in anything in shad color and watermelon and green pumpkin have been the best colors for the tubes,senko's and jigs.

  • Shasta County
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      Water Temp: 69-80

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Tough to stay cool but the bite was "HOT". 2 days @ 50+ fish. Most fish in the 13-16" range with a few dinks thrown in. Small, lite baits (tiny tubes, lizards)were the ticket.
      City: Reno

      Tips: watch your line for subtle differences in fall rate....this always indicates a fish on.

    • By

      Water Temp: unknown-but waa

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: so i waited till the people were done playing.afternoooon was off the hook.my partner and i were doubled more than not,,,i threw a pop-r and he threw a spook,we both had a rod with a sinko,and would throw it at the bigger blow-ups when they would just slap the lure,most of the bigger fish are.so if you want some slightly bigger fish throw something that wont make a big splash....
      City: redding -------clear-lake

      Tips: all right -you need to find the shady shore line first thing,when the shade starts to hit the water the type of shore line wont matter.,,,,{.so save your best shore line for a little latter-when the whole lake is shaded .}did trick two over 16 "

    • By

      Water Temp: 72

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Just got back from brutally hot weekend fishing club 2-day'er. Caught dozens of spotted bass, most in the 10-12 inch range. Every 20th fish or so was a keeper (13+).

      Tips: Topwater bite good on spooks from sun-up to about 7 o clock. After that, try 4" robo worms, power craws, or lizards, rigged texas-style w/ very light bullet sinker, fished against rocky ledges, retrieved slowly, twitched very slightly. All these types of baits are SMALL but very effective this weekend. To go after bigger ones, try wacky senkos against larger trees further from shore. You'll get more action with the aforementioned smaller baits, however.

Saturday, May 17th, 2008

  • Napa County
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      Water Temp: 68

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: You can launch for free at cappell cove. just takes more gas to get to the destination.
      City: el cerrito

      Tips: Berryessa is awesome this time of the year. Use mini lizards by zoom. B-hogs and robo's. never stop fishing.

    • By

      Water Temp: 74

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Fished from 6am to 11am, 15 in the boat largest was 2 lbs, caught on darter head robo's,drop shot, spinnerbait, chatterbait, cranks.
      City: Sac

      Tips: $20 dollar launch fee I won't be back! Who do thet think they are the oil companys?

  • Santa Clara County
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      Water Clarity: Muddy (0-2 foot visibility)

      Report: A ranger at Coyote explained to me that the reason they need to eliminate the mussels is because they clog the pipes and foul the pumps
      destroying the reason why these reservoirs were created in the first place, to serve as water supplies. On the Eastcoast they use dual pipes and pumps and run one set while they clean the other. In California they only have one set.
      City: Monterey

  • Alameda County
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      Water Temp: 73

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: John landed three bass yesterday (4+, 2.5, and 1.5) and I landed three today (3+, 2+, and 1.5). We're getting them on Carolina-rigged lizards and dark jigs/trailers in 12'- 15' of water. Seems the bass have pulled back off the banks. Lots of fry visible so a lot of spawning has already happened. John saw many bass in the shallows yesterday, but today they had moved deeper.
      City: Monterey

      Tips: Very slow presentations seem to work best right now. Because the water is so clear, we found long casts worked best.

  • Sonoma County
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      Water Temp: unknown

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: wow. there is very little water left in this lake. big ups to the idiot who decided to let all that water out in january and february. this place will be close to bone dry by august. the entire shoreline with the reeds is exposed and down about 2-3' by my estimation...
      anyway, hiked in with my UL ugly stik and 6 lb. test. threw wacky senkos and landed three, the biggest being about 2#. two others were about 1.5#. a great fight with the UL gear. hooked and lost two others, one of which felt a bit bigger, but i never glimpsed the elusive fish. i also threw a fluke and missed one on my first cast and both yellow and white 'blades with no luck. pretty decent for about 90 minutes fishing. i didn't see anyone else out there, and very few on the trail, probably due to the heat... those i did see weren't carrying water. d-uh!
      City: petaluma

      Tips: fish these baits slow... when they do take them it's pretty quick. good fighting.
      of note: lots of fry in the water. i've heard people talk about culling some of the fish out of here due to the limited pressure. anyone else think it's a good idea? especially with the decreased habitat due to the water drop, there's going to be way to many fish in here... that's my guess, though i'm the first to say i'm not a natural resources biologist or anything.

    • By

      Water Temp: 67

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: First time night fishing at this lake. Warm night with wind gusts up to 20 mph. Some action on spinner baits, sank night crawlers, landed 3-pound largemouth @ 10pm then went home.
      City: Brentwood

      Tips: Los Vaqueros opens night fishing every other Saturday until 11pm. Bring battery-powered lantern or clip-on flashlight.

  • Butte County
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      Water Temp: UNK

      Water Clarity: Stained (2-4 foot visibility)

      Report: Put in at bidwell and headed to the south arm with a little wind picking up. First point we stopped at bam, 4 fish in the boat in the first half hour...all on senkos, 3 dinks and one 4 lb spot. Moved further in the the south arm with little luck. We went back to the point we started on and again we hooked up, two more one was 3.5 lb spot. Moved to the middle arm and hit random dinks the rest of the day, nothing over 2 lbs. All in all a good day.
      City: Grass Valley

      Tips: Lots of debris in the water so be carefull. Also some of our fish never hit the bait, never moved the line, it was like we threw right in on them and they just sucked it up, went to move the bait and fish on, so always pay attention when moving your bait, might be a fish there.

    • By

      Water Temp: 60-69

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: I had the pleasure of taking out a single mom and her 12 year old son today. It was special to see them experience bass fishing for their first time. With them so new to fishing I had them throwing drop shot and senko's. They did fantastic with around 20 bass in half a day. There were plenty of high fives going on. A special day.
      City: Paradise

      Tips: Get out there on Lake Oroville. The post spawn bite is happening all over the lake.

  • Amador County
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      Water Temp: 74

      Water Clarity: Clear (4+ foot visibility)

      Report: Got on the lake after boat inspection 7am.
      Tried some top water dart head drag some worms no takers. Ok what's up with this lake? Went to my go too spinner bait and fishing got good then. Third cast 4/1/2 small mouth two large mouth over 3/lbs the rest just keepers and ended up with 16 fish. See ya on the water just look for the blue and white Astro

      Tips: Never think its to sunny for spinner baits.